Ducks and Chinamen

Those of you who attended the recent dive planning meeting (thanks for a record turnout!) will be aware of my views on arranging club diving from our RIBs. This is a very important topic for all of us, so without further ado, here it is again.....

"The club doesn't do much diving", "The Tornado sits in the clubhouse all the time"

How many times have you said or heard these or similar points of view? Who is "the club" anyway? There is a very simple, straightforward answer to this question. The club is you. Each and every one of you. With this point in mind, there are two promises I will make:

Firstly, if you want to go diving with the club, and are prepared to stand up and do some work towards that aim (and it doesn't actually have to be much), then I promise that you (the club) will soon reap the substantial benefits of a club diving programme using our club boats.

Secondly, if you want to go diving with the club but do nothing about it, then I promise that nothing will happen, and that you will spend next winter in your armchair making statements similar to those quoted above.

The choice is yours. As in many aspects of all our lives, you get out of something what you put into it. I strongly believe that any member who wants to make a club diving event happen, can make it happen, whether that member is a Novice or a National Instructor.

Whilst many members may not have the skills or the time to organise and/or marshal a club dive, those same members can, however gather together the resources required to do this - some enthusiasm and some time on the telephone may be all that is required. If you are happy to let others do everything for you, then may I recommend you take up solitaire or embroidery, because you are certainly a liability here.

To summarise - diving is FUN, it is your fun and there is no time for rehearsal: your next dive is for real! If you want to go diving, then organise it - you will find you will get all the help you need if you are prepared to do your own bit. May I remind you of an old Chinese proverb: "Hungry man waits a long time for roast duck to fly into his mouth".

This page was last updated on : 09 Sep 2018